Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development at St Benedict’s At St Benedict’s our motto is ‘Dream, Believe and Achieve’. To help us to achieve this aim we offer our pupils the widest possible range of opportunities for their Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development. The table below explains what we mean by SMSC development and shows some of the ways we use to help our pupils to achieve it.
is about exploring beliefs and experience; respecting faiths, feelings and values; enjoying learning about oneself, others and the surrounding world; using imagination and creativity; reflecting.
is recognising right and wrong; respecting the law; understanding consequences; investigating moral and ethical issues; offering reasoned views. :
We practise Restorative Justice. We have a warm, inclusive Christian ethos that influences everything we do. We have strong links with both St Benedict’s Church and the Church of St John the Baptist. We celebrate Christian festivals in assemblies and at our town’s churches. We encourage the study of other beliefs, for example, various year groups study Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. We also welcome visitors from other faiths and denominations. We take part in religious/spiritual events, such as the cutting of the Holy Thorn which is presented to the Queen. The school Tranquillity Garden offers a place for reflection. Most pupils have been involved in designing this quiet area. We are developing an outdoor Forest School classroom and a wellbeing space in the Year 4 Quad. Our newly created Reading Area offers a welcoming environment. The installation of new gender-neutral toilets has provided a safe facility for pupils. The whole school climbed Glastonbury Tor for an act of worship and Year 6 will undertake a pilgrimage around the ‘Hidden Treasures of Glastonbury’. In addition, each class enjoyed Christmas Story workshops in St. Benedict’s Church. We use St Benedict’s Church and Glastonbury Abbey for many activities covering a variety of subjects, including celebrations and music.
Our Year 6 pupils act as Peer Supporters and help younger pupils with any problems. They also take other responsibilities around the school such as being lost property monitors. Year 6 children use our Change for Life resources to organise and lead games for younger children. Anyone feeling lonely knows that sitting at the Buddy Bench will soon bring someone to play. Our pupils fundraise wholeheartedly for causes that matter to them. As well as supporting school and local causes, they, and their families donate generously to appeals such as Children in Need, Save The Children Christmas Jumper Day, Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and local appeals that affect our community such as Downs’ Syndrome fund-raising and Food Bank appeals. We are proud of the sportsmanship of all our teams. Pupils take part in many activities, including cross country, tag rugby, football and netball tournaments and special Sports Days. This year, in conjunction with the local Beat Police force we are establishing St. Benedict’s first ever ‘Mini-Police force’ – this will consist of 18 MiniPolice in Year 5. As part of our e-learning, we ensure our pupils have clear messages about e-safety as well as organising Police visits to discuss the dangers of radicalisation and gangs. In addition, the Police have delivered an evening parent talk at school outlining the dangers of County Lines and promoting careful e-safety practise.
is investigating and exploring moral issues; appreciating diverse viewpoints; participating, volunteering and co-operating; resolving conflict; engaging with the fundamental values of British democracy. :
We are proud of the work of our School Council and the work that it does. We celebrate our pupils’ achievements both in and out of school by achievement assemblies and displays. Pupils’ work is also displayed in community spaces e.g. Library and Red Brick Centre. The Learning Mentor provides support for pupils with social and emotional needs through Nurture Groups and 1-1 sessions. Our Year 5 pupils organise and run Sports Day for the local infant school, as well as running the Lower School Sports Day. We have an active choir which performs for the residents of local nursing and residential homes. We run residential trips for pupils. We run Forest School sessions that develop teamwork and other life skills. We are currently training all staff in Forest School, so that we can have a greater focus on outdoor learning. We use some of our PE grant on a lifestyles PE group and also have healthy eating lessons for targeted children.
is appreciating cultural influences; appreciating the role of Britain's parliamentary system; participating in culture opportunities; understanding, accepting, respecting and celebrating diversity. We explore other cultures in and out of the classroom. We have a growing link with Mano Primary School in Mufulira, Zambia. We regularly put on plays and concerts and have drama and art clubs for anyone to join. We work with different artists and are proud of the murals that decorate our school. We have sports clubs and teams for pupils of all abilities. We celebrate the sporting success of pupils when representing the school and local teams. This academic year we have enjoyed a whole school theatre trip to Weston Playhouse, as well as a whole-school trip to Strode Theatre to watch a local production. As part of our commitment to inspiring our pupils, we welcome numerous authors to St. Benedict’s and have worked with three different authors this year alone. We have established a link with renowned poet, A.F. Harrold, for next year and enjoy an excellent relationship with the Wells Festival of Literature who have subsidised visits from a number of authors. We have hosted visits from Bath Rugby and from Olympic athletes, cyclists and judo-players. We take part in annual multi-generational dance projects. One of our projects was based on the Babylonian story of Ishtar and Tammuz.
Our pupils fundraise for an annual Year 6 London trip that takes them to the Houses of Parliament We have a varied menu of after-school clubs, in which they learn about parliamentary including Chess, Big Art, sports, girls’ football, a choir democracy. Due to its success, this has developed and even a performance club (Glee). into a 2-day residential trip. Our curriculum has a local focus and we take the opportunity to visit local farms, Avalon Marshes, As part of our planned World Garden, we have Glastonbury Abbey and other local places of interest explored Ecological issues such as the impact of frequently. As part of our recent Science Week, plastics on the world. Pupils are currently children relished the visit of BugFest as well as trips creating their own eco-bricks and enjoying to West Hay to learn about the local environment. workshops to the local ‘Scrapstore’ to design their own clothes out of single use plastics and other waste materials.